This invention is concerned with a shoe support for supporting a shoe, comprising an upper on a last, for a shoe upper conforming operation to be performed thereon, and with shoe upper conforming machines of which such a shoe support forms part.
There is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 3,138,810 a heel end assembling and backpart moulding machine having a central heat-activating station and two assembling and backpart moulding stations arranged for operating upon respectively left and right shoes. At each station is provided a shoe support for supporting a shoe bottom-up and including a heel support in the form of a heel pin and a toe rest, a holddown against which a shoe placed upon the shoe support is urged upwardly to a heightwise position in which the heel seat region of the shoe bottom is correctly oriented in relation to the plane of wiper means by which upstanding lasting marginal portions of the shoe upper, at the heel end thereof, can be wiped over and pressed against corresponding marginal portions of an insole, and a heel band by which the backpart of the shoe upper can be moulded to conform to the shape of the last, the heel band and wiper means both being mounted in a wiper head which is movable fore-and-aft of the machine between an advanced, operative, position and a retracted, out-of-the-way position. In using this machine, the operator places a last on the heel pin and positions a shoe upper thereon in the correct heightwise orientation. At this stage an insole may already have been attached, by conventional means, to the shoe bottom, or alternatively a loose insole may also be located correctly on the shoe bottom by the operator. The operator then ensures that the upper is properly tensioned lengthwise and heightwise of the last and initiates a cycle of operation of the machine in which firstly the shoe is correctly positioned heightwise by being jacked up against the holddown, and thereafter the wiper head is advanced to its operative position, determined by engagement of the heel band with the backpart of the shoe, whereupon a backpart moulding operation is effected, together with an inflanging operation on the upstanding lasting margin of the upper. The heat-activating station is used for pre-heating for activation the backpart of shoes in which especially thermoplastic heel end stiffeners have been inserted, the arrangement being such that, in the backpart moulding operation, the activated stiffener takes the form of the heel end portion of the last, and, following cooling, consolidates and thus serves to retain the conformed shape.
It will be appreciated that, especially with loose insoles, but in any event, it is difficult for the operator to handle the various components of the shoe while at the same time ensuring that they are retained in their correct locations in relation to the last. In a development of the aforementioned machine, therefore, which development has been commercially available for a number of years, shoe holding means in the form of grippers has been provided at each assembling and backpart moulding station for gripping the shoe upper, in the forepart region thereof, and applying a tensioning force lengthwise of the shoe and also heightwise thereof. To this end, the grippers are caused to effect a composite motion about a pivotal axis under the control of powered means.
It will of course be appreciated that the holddown of the machine serves to clamp the shoe on its heel pin in the heel seat region thereof while the grippers are operated in the region of the forepart. In some instances, this has lead to the shoe being caused to tilt on the shoe support in such a manner that the heel seat region is no longer correctly oriented in the wiping plane with the consequence that the backpart of the shoe is incorrectly positioned in relation to the heel band. Furthermore, the presence of the holddown in contact with the shoe bottom at this stage makes access to the backseam region of the shoe more difficult so that the operator has to exercise a good deal of manual dexterity in order to ensure the correct positioning of the upper on the last prior to the assembling, backpart moulding and heel seat lasting operation. In addition, the commercially available machine referred to above also is capable of performing a heel seat lasting operation, using the same wiper means, and to this end is also provided with adhesive applying means which however relies upon the backpart of the shoe being correctly oriented for the application of adhesive in the correct pattern and at the correct location in the heel seat region.
It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide an improved shoe support for the machine of the aforementioned type, in the use of which the operator can position the shoe upper on its last and maintain it in such position, while affording the operator ready access to the backpart region thereof.
It is a further one of the various objects of the present invention to provide a shoe upper conforming machine in which orientation of the shoe upper in relation to its last, and also positioning of the last in the shoe support, appropriately for a subsequent shoe upper conforming operation, takes place while the shoe support and operating instrumentalities of the machine are in a spaced-apart condition.